Web-posted Thursday, November 24, 2005
Medical center
honored for
training program
By George Schwarz
george.schwarz@amarillo.com
Childress Regional Medical Center has received an Award of Excellence from
the Texas
Workforce
Commission.
The award
resulted from a
nomination from
the Panhandle
Workforce
Development
Board, according
to the Panhandle
Regional
Planning
Commission.
The PRPC said
the medical
center was
honored for its
licensed
vocational nurse
training
efforts, which
graduates about
12 LVNs a year
from the
hospital-based
program.
But John
Henderson, the
hospital's chief
executive, said
the award was
for more than
that.
"I don't
think our award
was limited to
the work we've
done with the
LVN program,"
Henderson said.
"We work closely
with the
workforce
commission on
all our hires
but probably the
star in our
crown is the LVN
program."
The nurse
training
program, which
began about
eight years ago,
differs from
other training
programs. Those
are
academic-based
or affiliated
with a
university.
The hospital
program is rare
in the industry.
The
commission also
helps with
funding by
providing the
individual
student tuition
support, he
said.
All of the
school's
graduates have
passed the
licensing exam
for the past
four years and
all of the
graduates have
remained in
either Childress
or the
surrounding
communities, he
said.
According to
the PRPC, the
Texas Workforce
Center in
Childress,
funded by the
workforce board,
recruits
qualified
applicants for
other
professional and
support
positions at the
medical
facility.
That office
coordinates and
screens most of
the
applications,
Henderson said.
The medical
center has 49
beds and employs
250 people
working as 215
full-time
equivalent
employees.
